Field team: survey of the San Vito Martire church

The following pictures were taken by Eng. Francesco Graziotti, Eng. Ilaria Senaldi and Eng. Daniele Perrone representing Eucentre. Translation from Italian to English by Elide Pantoli (University of California, San Diego)

Date: October 20th 2016

Category: Parochial Church

Name of the structure: San Vito Martire church

Building typology: Unreinforced masonry

Municipality: Monte Vidon Corrado (FM)

Epicentral distance: [51 km]

Description of damage:

This structure, which was built in the XVII century, is the main place of worship in the town of Monte Vidon Corrado (FM). This church has a central nave with six lateral chapels and one apse. The vault of the central nave is in reinforced concrete, while the lateral chapels were created with different technologies, depending on when they were constructed. These technologies include: brick masonry (the oldest), reed and plaster, clay hollow bricks (the most recent). The roof of the central nave is in concrete and hollow bricks with chains absorbing the horizontal thrust. The lateral chapels have a wooden roof, namely the roof of those in the North-West side is very recent (2016).

The most concerning damage is that of the belfry, which is on top of a bell tower constructed with bricks and hewn stones. In fact, the belfry presents severe damage to one of the load-bearing piers, with falling of material which could compromise its overall stability (urgent repair intervention required).

In the inside of the church, no damage was observed to either the vault or roof in reinforced concrete. However, the weight of these elements increased the seismic displacement demand. The spandrels of the central nave were all damaged, some of them severely. The masonry piers do not show a concerning pattern of cracks.

The oldest chapel, which is built in brick masonry and located in the South-East corner, presents an extended pattern of pre-existing damage, which was worsened by this earthquake. The risk is especially high due to the considerable weight of the stuccos (dating back to the XVII century). The artwork in the chapel will be removed.